Searching around by Googling Winnetou, and searching on YouTube, I discovered that this Winnetou represents some type of fantasy for some Germans. There was a comment on YouTube by some German that Winnetou had him dreaming of going to the U.S. to marry an Indian girl...

Yes, I am aware of this. Here in the Southwest, it's those of Spanish descent that the native populations think of when they think of those who stole their lands. At the Zuni pueblo, an anglo is more welcome than an hispanic. My grandmother, a Tewa, was taken forcibly from her family and placed in a Spanish Catholic school.

The one thing that bothers me is that very few people know what Native American life is like today. I can't tell you how many people are disappointed when they meet actual American Indians and discover that they aren't all worshipping "mother earth".

I noted that Winnetou is supposed to be a Mescalero Apache. If you should visit the Mescalero reservation today, the men you would meet would be quite different. There's a lot of crime on this reservation and most of the young people drink way too much alcohol.. So sad..

As for scalping, this was a practice that the Native Americans learned from the colonialists..

Just compare the space devoted to this actor in the English and in the German articles about him.

"this Winnetou represents some type of fantasy for some Germans."

"Some" Germans means a vast majority of Germans. There are over 80 million Germans living in Europe (to which you can add the Austrians)

"those of Spanish descent that the native populations think of when they think of those who stole their lands"

The Spaniards have a far more incredibly horrendous record than that of the anglos as pertains what they inflicted upon south and central American populations for three centuries.

(Hmmm... I guess they also had ethics and morality and universal Christian values they wanted pre-colombian people to benefit. Kind of nation building, courtesy Spain and Jesus Christ).

"The one thing that bothers me is that very few people know what Native American life is like today"

Yes, I'm afraid you're right. That is the result of books like those Karl May wrote. On the right hand they popularized the cultures of Native Indians but on the other hand they led people into thinking time had stopped and Winnetou was still riding his dark horse through the plains of America.

Not to say there is an absolute ignorance of the current situation of Native Indians (I've seen reports about the gambling industry in some reservation camps for example or the ravages alcool provokes among certain people.

Did you know this Winnetou caracter before?

If you ever happen to meet one German, just mention the name Winnetou and you'll see his eyes briming with nostalgia and surprise that an American knows this exclusively German fictional hero.

I'll read what they say about scalping in Wiki. I thought it was a native Indian practise of its own.

If you ever happen to meet one German, just mention the name Winnetou and you'll see his eyes briming with nostalgia and surprise that an American knows this exclusively German fictional hero.

I had never heard of this Winnetou until you mentioned this cartoon character. I did understand from my Google and YouTube searches that he was a character that Germans are quite familiar with, and would be shocked to find that some Mercan might know of him. I found it to be similar to some of the annoying portrayals of Native Americans to be found on the tv in the U.S...

That landscape...

No, I am not familiar with this. I recognize it as obviously some place along the Rio Grande in the fall, but where exactly I don't know.

Rio Rancho, I am not that familiar with, which might surprise you. My IP address often shows me as living in Rio Rancho. I actually live in Mesilla NM and spend some time where my relatives live around the Espanola and Santa Fe area near the Dulce Apache reservation.

But yesterday I've learned how to write ♪ and ♫ and many other signs.

Perhaps not rocket science, however, I delight in learning such things!